Alan Shipnuck's Post-Solheim Mailbag

Justback from one of my favorite events, the Solheim Cup. It’s like the Ryder Cup,minus the excessive hype and commercialism. I went deep on Michelle Wie in mySI game story — which you can read here — but let me add a couple of quickthoughts. I will be shocked if Wiesy doesn’t win a couple of tournaments beforethe year is out. The missing ingredients in her game have always been passionand putting, and she discovered both at the Solheim. The more fired-up Wie gotthe better she played, and if she brings some of that emotion to everyday LPGAevents she will be very tough to beat. The biggest hole in her game has alwaysbeen inconsistent putting, but the week before the Solheim, Wie took a pair oflong lessons from Dave Stockton, who won two PGA Championships in his heydayand enjoyed the reputation of one of the greatest putters on the planet. OnSunday I caught Stockton on the phone at home in Cali as he was monitoring theSolheim, and he was positively giddy.“I’d beenhoping she would call me for years,” said Stockton, whose son Ronnie hasbecome a sought-after instructor on the LPGA tour. “At Phoenix this year theyshowed Michelle practicing and I was yelling at the TV because I felt likeeverything she was doing was wrong.”In my SI story I discussa few of the technical tweaks Stockton made to Wie’s stroke but the biggestchange was getting her to stop obsessing about mechanics and start thinkingabout feel and touch and pace and simply willing the ball into the hole.“People who can’t putt tend to be very mechanical,” Stockton told me. “They canwork and work at it but they’re never going to get better, and that wasMichelle. Across two days she basically changed her whole approach to putting.I couldn’t believe how fast she picked it up. I couldn’t believe how committedshe was.“I’mwatching her play at the Solheim and not only is she making everything but theputts are rolling beautifully, just diving into the hole. I’m sitting herethinking, Ohmygawd, she can be the best player out there. Soon.”A couple quick Solheim queries and then we’ll move on to the miscellanea. I know all the press has beengoing to Wie, but what do you make of Creamer's performance? She seems to havemental blocks like Phil does in majors, but she performed well at the Solheim.Do you think she's due to breakout or have a more Phil-like career trajectorywhere it takes her a long time before she wins majors?” — John from Austin Ilove Creamer, and not just for the obvious reasons. She’s a killer, one of thoseathletes who wants the ball in their hands when it matters. She was the star ofday one at the Solheim and set the tone for the singles with a rousing lead-offvictory over the Euro’s putative best player, Suzann Pettersen. In match playCreamer’s fairways-and-greens game wears down opponents, and she makes all theputts that matter. But she is probably the shortest hitter among all the eliteLPGA players. That distance disadvantage really hurts on the longer majorchampionship courses. She certainly can’t overwhelm a golf course like Phil, touse the reader’s comparison. Creamer will win a major, and probably a few, butno doubt she’s feeling the pressure to break through, even at the tender age of23. She seemed tight at all of this year’s majors and often got in her own way,a Phil specialty. Playing for something larger seemed to free up Creamer at theSolheim. Hopefully there will be a carryover into ‘10. A few Creamer-Wieshootouts in the majors would make the LPGA compulsory viewing.

“What do you make of Christina Kim's histrionics? Toomuch, or was Christina just being Christina - and did the Euros voice anydispleasure?” Shecertainly injected a lot of life into the Solheim, and the crowd spooned up herschtick. The Europeans didn’t exactly love having to watch her celebrations. InKim’s singles match her opponent, Tania Elosegui, copied a few of Kim’s signature moves, a sign of irritation but also an impressive display of attitude. But what the cameras never showed was that Kimwent out of her way to police the galleries when the Euros were hitting,often calling for quiet. She was also a very generous opponent, offering kindwords and not the usual steely silence. Laura Davies is one of the bluntestathletes on the planet and she was asked about Kim on Sunday evening in theloser’s press conference. “She's a lovely girl,” Davies said. “She's excitable. That's the way it is. She's good fun. She gets the crowds going. Good luck to her.” Bottom line is thatKim gets cut a little slack because all the players are used to her emoting. Thereare enough robots in golf, so I think it’s refreshing to see someone who caresso much. “Howlong can the FedEx Cup survive, given that it seems that fans don't care aboutit at all? People care about this week's event because Tiger is playing, not becauseof the FedEx Cup. Do you really think Tiger cares about winning it? The PGATour's relevance, like it or not, depends on Tiger's level of involvement. Isthe FedEx Cup gone in a year or so with something new or nothing at all?” Yeah, in year three I think it has become clear thatonly the players’ accountants and wives really care about the FedEx Cup. Buthere’s the bottom line: It has given us four excellent tournaments during whatused to be the slowest time of the year. It’s true Tiger doesn’t care about thewinning the FedEx Cup points race but he does care, deeply, about winning thisweek, simply because he wants to win every time he tees it up. My advice is tosimply ignore the points race and all that nonsense and enjoy a deep field on adramatic new golf course. The Cup will go on because it serves its primarypurpose: making the players even richer. We will all endure it because itserves our purposes: watching quality golf. “Am I the only one who thinks the prospect of Freddiepicking Tom Watson for the Presidents Cup team is nuts?” No, I’m with you on that one. What Watson did at the Openwas one of the great sporting achievements of our time, but it doesn’t meanhe’s a good pick. Match play is so often about holing key putts, and clearlyWatson’s putting is shaky at best. Tom Watson as Presidents Cup captain in‘011? That’s a petition I’ll gladly sign. “Howoften do tour players change golf balls? Each hole, three holes, every nine?This assumes there are no scuffs or marks on them which would warrant animmediate replacement.” — Fred Yanni Thisis a very personal thing, often grounded in voodoo. Ernie Els changes ballsafter every birdie, believing each pellet has only one bird in it. (Clearly Elshasn’t needed many news balls the last few years.) Many players on a hot streakgo the other way and keep the same ball in play for as long as possible. Me, Iuse the same ball until I’ve bladed a sand wedge, earning the dreaded smileyface. “MaybeI was in a Nantz-induced nap, but did I dream about a Bridgestone commericalwhere Freddie's with a smokin' chick in a red dress discussing balls in men'slocker room? He's practically zipping it up while they chat - and then -aaaaahhh, there's Lee Trevino!! Freaky.” — Ben Smith Yeah,this is my favorite of all golf commercials because it is so exquisitelyrandom. Is the woman Fred’s secretary? Is she, gulp, a golf writer? And then,as noted, just as the various soft-core scenarios are on the verge of playingout we’re interrupted by the tired Merry Mex thing. But I think we can use thisconstructively. Remember the greatest sports cameo in cinematic history, XavierMcDaniel in Singles, helpingCampbell Scott last longer in bed?I think Trevino can serve a similar purpose for this generation of golf fans.And just think: All those irritating Cialis ads would suddenly be obsolete. (Photo: Darren Carroll/SI)